Team USA, per usual, is loaded with talent. The reigning 2021 gold medalists have their eyes on repeating as champions as the 2022 World Junior Championship begins in Edmonton.
Going down their roster, it's hard not to notice the plethora of NHL draft picks they have. The entire defensive group has been drafted, as well as every forward with the exception of Hunter McKown.
And then we get to the goaltending, where not a single one of the three on the roster have been drafted.
WJC 2022: Team USA schedule, scores, roster
"They have a really strong group of defensemen, I think they have enough scoring depth up front," NHL Network's E.J. Hradek said when discussing the structure of Team USA. "The question will be where are they in goal."
Coach Nate Leaman's crew enters the tournament with no clear-cut starter in net. The trio that will handle the duties are Kaiden Mbereko, Andrew Oke and Remington Keopple. Only Mbereko is a returning member from the squad who played in December during the canceled tournament.
It was anticipated heading into this summer that Drew Commesso would return as the starting goaltender. The Blackhawks second-round pick from 2020 backstopped Team USA not only in December, but also played for his country at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
However, Commesso is not on the roster, and neither is Dylan Silverstein, the other goalie that completed the December group in net. That leaves it up to three goalies who are undrafted and coming off very average seasons.
"That's the biggest question mark for me going into it with Team USA is who is going to emerge in the crease and how well are they going to play," Hradek said.
Why is Drew Commesso not playing at the 2022 World Juniors?
Commesso's decision not to join the USA squad raised some eyebrows. He was the clear starter in December and is not aiming to make the Blackhawks this fall, the club who drafted him in 2020. Instead, he's going back to Boston University for his junior year.
However, it was reported that it was his choice not to play in Edmonton, leaving Team USA without a clear answer in net.
Who is Team USA's starting goaltender?
The simple answer is — there is no clear No. 1 goalie, per se.
Mbereko is going to be the guy in goal to begin the tournament. The Colorado College commit played this past season with the Lincoln Stars in the USHL, recording a record of 18-11-3 with a 3.01 GAA and .898 SV%. He started USA's exhibition game against Slovakia, where he stopped all 13 shots he faced.
"One of those three guys is going to emerge. I think Mbereko is probably the most likely guy, but I would not be surprised if it's any of the three goalies," Hradek said.
I've been around this tournament enough ... great goaltenders can play poorly in a short tournament and goaltenders that we end up never hearing from again end up having a great tournament and leading their team to something special.
Oke seems to be in line to be the backup to Mbereko. He played the third period against Slovakia, making five saves on six shots. Oke backstopped the Saginaw Spirit in the OHL, going 13-16-1 with a 4.63 GAA and a SV% of .848.
MORE: Why are the World Juniors being played in August?
Koepple is the third option. The Cornell University commit finished the 2021-22 season with a 13-20-2 record with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL. He posted a GAA of 3.06 and a SV% of .893, adding two shutouts as well.
The bottom line is that none of them are Commesso. But that's OK. Like Hradek said, all it takes is one goalie getting hot at the right time and stealing a game or two, and that could be enough to win a medal at a tournament like this one.
Has Team USA won gold with an undrafted goalie before?
We're not here to discourage USA fans from thinking that a gold medal is not in the cards. It most certainly is, as the rest of the roster is extremely deep and can compete with any other country at the tournament.
However, looking back at the five American gold medal-winning teams in World Juniors history, all five had sensational goalies in net.
Most recently it was Spencer Knight, a first-round draft pick by the Panthers who backstopped the team to gold in 2021. He capped off his tournament with a shutout in the gold medal game against rival Canada.
MORE: Schedule, scores, results for all 2022 World Juniors games
In 2017, it was Tyler Parsons in net, a second-round pick of the Flames who was in the middle of his third superb season in the OHL with the London Knights. John Gibson, the longtime Ducks starter and second-round pick, was the goalie for the 2013 team and had been USA's starting goalie at the U17 and U18 level in years prior, developing with the U.S. national development program.
Mike Lee was in net for the team's 2010 win and while he ended up never making it to the NHL, he was a third-round pick by the Coyotes and at the time, was a promising freshman at St. Cloud State after a solid USHL career. Al Montoya, the No. 6 pick in the 2004 draft, helped Team USA to its first gold in 2004 after also coming through the national program.
It's not to say it can't be done, as undrafted goalies have helped other countries before. However, whether it would be Mbereko, Oke or Koepple, they would be the first undrafted goalie to win gold for the USA at the World Juniors.
